职称英语阅读理解练习题_职称英语阅读理解

职称英语阅读理解练习题

　　The hail of bombs falling on Afghanistan is making life particularly hard for the countrys wildlife. Birds such as the pelican and endangered Siberian crane cross eastern Afghanistan as they follow one of the worlds great migratory thoroughfares from Siberia to Pakistan and India. But the number of the birds flying across the region has dropped by a staggering 85 per cent. Cranes are very sensitive and they do not use the route if they see any danger, says Ashiq Ahgmad, an environmental scientist for the WWF in Peshawar, Pakistan, who has tracked the collapse of the birds migration this winter.

　　The rugged mountains also usually provide a safe have for mountain leopards, gazelles, bears and Marco Polo sheepthe worlds largest species. The same terrain that allows fighters to strike and disappear back into the hills has also historically enabled wild life to survive, says Peter Zahler of the Wildlife Conservation society, based in New York. But he warns they are now under intense pressure from the bombing and invasions of refugees and fighters.

　　For instance, some refugees are hunting rare snow leopards to buy a safe passage across the border. A single fur can fetch $2,000 on the black market, says Zahler. Only 5,000 or so snow leopards are thought to survive in central Asia, and less than 100 in Afghanistan, their numbers already decimated by extensive hunting and smuggling into Pakistan before the conflict. Timber, falcons and medicinal plants are also being smuggled across the border. The Talibab once controlled much of this trade, but the recent power vacuum could exacerbate the problem.